Babcock has been chosen by Saab to support the development of Sweden’s Luleå-class Surface Combatant program.
The partnership comes after the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement in September 2023, highlighting the joint work needed to design four ships for the Swedish Navy.
Saab is set to develop a basic design for the new ships, while Babcock will oversee the program’s engineering phase.
Babcock will also focus on the Luleå-class vessels’ structural design and auxiliary systems.
“This is an important collaboration between Swedish and British shipbuilders, and I am looking forward to a close teamwork to strengthen the Swedish capabilities at sea,” Saab SVP Mats Wicksell said.
Work for the program will take place in Saab’s shipyard in Karlskrona, Sweden, and Babcock’s facility in Rosyth, Scotland.
The Luleå-Class Ships
Announced in 2023 as Sweden’s premier vessel for securing peace on the Northern Cape, the Luleå-class combat ships are set to be bigger than the Swedish Navy’s Visby- and Gävle-class corvettes.
Primary measurements for the vessels’ length currently sit at 330 feet (100 meters), potentially making it the largest ship in service with the Swedish Navy.
The first two are expected to be commissioned by 2030, with the remaining two arriving by 2035.
